The Derevkos: Who We Are
by hellonwheels04
Summary: The three Derevko sisters. What made them the women they are. A short story told from each sister's persepctive.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or Alias. They are property of J.J. Abrams and ABC!

**The Derevkos: Who We Are**

**Introduction**

An old woman sat on the porch of a rundown house. In fact, it looked more like a shack than anything else. She was hunched with age and her hands trembled slightly as she rolled a cigarette. Striking a match, Iskra Derevko lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply.

Looking over the barren Russian landscape before her, Iskra's thoughts turned towards her three daughters. As age had begun to set in and things became harder to do on her own, her thoughts returned more frequently to the women she had raised and who they had become.

Only one of them returned occasionally to check on her. Irina, her middle child, had always been a bit of a bleeding heart. It was both a weakness and strength but at the present time, it was a simple blessing. Every time Irina came by, she fussed and insisted that she provide Iskra a better place to live but she couldn't abandon this house. Her life was here.

Iskra let out another plume of smoke and she thought of Elena, her stomach turning. Rumor had spread quickly about her eldest daughter and her cruelty. Elena always had a quick and violent temper and it served her well in her profession.

Then there was Katya. Iskra shook her head and a ghostly smile crossed her face. The typical youngest child: always dramatic, with a taste for theatrics, and constantly chasing after her older sisters. Katya had always wanted what they had.

Iskra sipped a bit of vodka, letting the liquid warm her body. Part of her wondered how her children could be so different. The other half of Iskra couldn't help wondering if there was something she could have done. Could she have stopped them from becoming what they had? When had they become so cruel and unfeeling?


	2. Chapter 2

**Elena**

Elena methodically stirred the contents of the dark pot as she watched her sisters play through the window. They were running around and laughing without a care in the world. Meanwhile, she was stuck making dinner since her mother had gone into town.

"Elena!" A harsh voice rang through the small house. "Get in here!"

She jumped down from the stool and quickly rushed towards the only bedroom. "Yes?" Elena hesitantly approached the side of the bed when she noticed the empty bottle on the floor.

Yuri Derevko struggled to sit up, his head swimming with the effects of alcohol. "Come here." He roughly grabbed the child's arm and pulled her closer. "Where is your mother?" When Elena struggled, he only tightened his grip. "She was supposed to be back fifteen minutes ago. Is she meeting with someone?"

Elena's nose wrinkled as the smell of vodka permeated her senses. "Otets, please, I don't know." She cried when his hand burned a path across her face.

"Don't lie to me!" Yuri shouted, shaking her. "Where is she?"

Iskra strode through the doorway and gasped, dropping a few packages on the floor. "Let her go!"

Elena started sobbing when her father threw her roughly to the floor and turned on Iskra, striking her. "Stop!" she shouted. Elena watched in horror as Yuri continued to scream and curse in Russian, knocking her mother to the ground.

"Yuri, stop. You're drunk." Iskra struggled for air when his boot collided with her stomach.

Elena quickly looked around for something useful. Her gaze fell to Yuri's old Army knife and she grabbed it, unsure of what she should do. They had never had a fight this awful. She watched as Yuri's fist smashed into Iskra's face, cheekbone shattering under the force, and Elena didn't hesitate.

Lifting the knife above her head, it seemed like there was someone else controlling her movements. She could hear her father cry out as the blade landed deep in his back. Elena yanked the knife out, blood spilling onto the floor, and then drove it through him again. She watched with fascinated horror as her father fell into a pool of his own blood, gasping for breath.

Iskra dragged herself towards Yuri and watched as the light rapidly faded from his eyes. She then turned to Elena, a wave of nausea taking over. Blood stained her hands and clothes. "What have you done?" she whispered.

A small smile formed and Elena couldn't stop staring at the knife sticking from Yuri's back. It was over. They would never have to endure another one of his beatings again. She calmly brushed a piece of long black hair from her face, not caring that blood smeared across her face. Elena looked at her mother and the smile grew bigger. "It's okay, Mamochka. He will never hurt you again."


	3. Chapter 3

**Irina**

"You have to do it."

Irina imperceptibly flinched at the words hissed in her ear. "Those were not our orders. We should take him in for questioning."

"These are new orders," Alexander Khasinau quickly snapped. "I'm your superior. You must do as I say." He glanced out the window to make sure no one was approaching. "Hurry up. I don't want anyone to know we're here."

She studied the man that was trembling in front of her. He was shielding his family with his own body, offering himself as a sacrificial lamb. His wife had gathered their children to her and tried to hide their faces from seeing too much. "What have you been accused of?" Irina barked.

"We do not have time for this!"

"I have been accused of distributing materials that speak out against the Kremlin." His voice cracked but he didn't care that he was crying. Maybe it would save his life. "But it's not true. Please, Comrade."

"Do we have any proof of this?" Irina asked. She was flirting with a dangerous line by openly defying her superior.

Khasinau shook his head and stalked towards her. Placing his gun against the back of her head, he pulled the hammer back. Its sound was unmistakable and threatening. "You're a promising student, Irina, but I will not hesitate to put a bullet through your skull. Either kill this traitor or you die with him. It's your choice."

Irina knew that Khasinau wasn't bluffing and quickly raised her gun. She watched as fear ran rampant across the man's face and she hoped her eyes conveyed the sorrow she felt. "I survived without my father. I'm sure your children will be fine."

Pulling the trigger, Irina watched as the man jerked and fell to the floor, completely still. His wife screamed and ran to the lifeless body, desperately trying to wake him up. She threw the gun to the ground with disgust. "It's done," she said, looking at Khasinau. "I hope there's no longer any doubt of my allegiance and devotion to this country." Her voice seemed different. It was flat and stoic, completely void of emotion.

Khasinau smiled with satisfaction. "Well done but you must never hesitate like that again. The next time it happens, you won't be given a warning. Do you understand?"

Irina nodded and silently walked out of the room. As her stomach churned violently, Irina felt empty and cold, like she had just lost any touch of humanity. She made it around the corner of the building before throwing up and she prayed Khasinau couldn't hear her. This was the last time that she could afford to show weakness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Katya**

She stood silently around the corner, listening to her mother and older sister speak in hushed tones. It had been a week since Irina's return and there was rumor that she had turned. Katya's eyes narrowed at the thought of a traitor in her midst, let alone, one that was her sister.

"Yekaterina, you still eavesdrop like a child I see. I suppose some things never change," Irina spoke harshly.

"I hate when you use my full name," Katya chided as she emerged from the shadows. She held herself tall and gently smoothed the wrinkles from her KGB uniform. "It's good to have you back, Comrade. I overheard you talking about that fool husband of yours."

Irina nodded vaguely and threw back another shot of vodka. "I've heard you've moved quickly through the ranks. Congratulations." She filled two glasses and held one out to her.

Katya eyed her suspiciously before taking the glass and raising it. "To your safe return and a life free from those American pigs." She quickly swallowed the burning liquid but noticed when Irina did not. "Have you become so accustomed to the American lifestyle that you've forgotten how to drink when somebody toasts you?"

"Do _not _push me, Katya, or speak of my family again." Irina's voice was low and lethal.

The smile that formed was cruel and knowing. "So the rumors are true, I see. You fell in love with the American. Tell me, did it hurt to leave your daughter? How do you think she feels right now, thinking her mother is dead?" Katya tilted her head in curiosity as she watched Irina's hands begin to shake. "Perhaps, your American husband cries for you as we speak." When Irina lunged, Katya was ready and took hold of her, ending the struggle quickly by holding a blade to her throat.

"Katya!" Iskra exclaimed. "Let her go."

"I will momentarily but first I have something to say." Katya held the knife tighter when her sister struggled. "You had the greatest opportunity and squandered it, Irina. You fell for your mark like a fool. I have lived in your shadow my entire life but not anymore. You will be known as a failure. Nothing more."

Irina felt the blade draw a thin line of blood from her throat but refused to shy away from it. "I see you've been taught well."

Katya pushed her away with disgust. "And I see you've become nothing more than a simple whore. I spent my entire life looking up to you but I see now I couldn't have been more wrong. You will never be better than me." She spit on the floor. "Traitor."


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue**

Iskra stubbed out the cigarette and pulled her aging frame from the chair. Their father had been a legend among the Red Army. Maybe it had been unavoidable, in their blood, that her daughters should turn out the way they had.

She sat heavily at the table and buried her head in her hand, a single tear slipping down her weathered cheek. Perhaps it was simply fate. Something that couldn't be avoided. A fate that had cost her family too much.

Iskra calmly lit another cigarette. "Maybe this is just who we are."

**The End**


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